Touchpad Module

The present disclosure relates to a touchpad module, and more particularly to a touchpad module having a displacement sensing element.

Some electronic devices currently available on the market are equipped with a touchpad module. A user can slide the finger on the touchpad module to move the cursor on the screen of the electronic device, or press the touchpad module to cause the electronic device to execute a specific function. This eliminates the need for the user to carry and install an external mouse.

Generally, a support member of the touchpad module usually has a resilient arm defined by a single U-shaped gap, and a sensing element for sensing the deformation of the resilient arm is disposed on the resilient arm. When the touchpad module is pressed, the resilient arm deforms, and the sensing element for sensing the deformation of the resilient arm can detect a signal.

The present disclosure provides a touchpad module, which includes a support member, a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), and an elastic member. The support member has a plurality of strip-shaped gaps to define a resilient arm, in which the strip-shaped gaps form a symmetrical pattern, and the resilient arm has a central portion and a plurality of extension portions connected to the central portion. The printed circuit board assembly is located above the support member and includes a displacement sensing element, in which the displacement sensing element is adjacent to the resilient arm and faces the support member. The elastic member is disposed between the printed circuit board assembly and the central portion of the resilient arm of the support member.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the strip-shaped gaps at least partially surround each other, and the extension portions at least partially surround the central portion.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an area of the displacement sensing element is greater than or equal to an area of the central portion of the resilient arm.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the support member has two of the strip-shaped gaps to define the resilient arm.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the support member has three or four of the strip-shaped gaps to define the resilient arm.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the displacement sensing element is a capacitive sensing element.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the displacement sensing element is an inductive sensing element.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the touchpad module does not include a sensing element for sensing deformation of the resilient arm.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the touchpad module does not include a strain gauge.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the touchpad module does not include a piezoelectric sensing element.

The advantages and features of the present disclosure and the method for achieving the same will be described in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings to make it easier to understand. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, for those skilled in the art, the provided embodiments will make this disclosure more thorough, comprehensive and complete to convey the scope of the present disclosure.

The spatially relative terms in the text, such as “beneath” and “over”, are used to facilitate the description of the relative relationship between one element or feature and another element or feature in the drawings. The true meaning of the spatially relative terms includes other orientations. For example, when the drawing is flipped up and down by 180°, the relationship between the one element and the other element may change from “beneath” to “over.” The spatially relative descriptions used herein should be interpreted the same.

As mentioned in the prior art, generally, the support member of the touchpad module usually has the resilient arm defined by the single U-shaped gap, and the sensing element for sensing the deformation of the resilient arm is disposed on the resilient arm. When the touchpad module is pressed, the resilient arm deforms, and the sensing element for sensing the deformation of the resilient arm can detect the signal. However, the sensing elements currently commonly used for sensing the deformation of the resilient arm (e.g., a strain gauge or a piezoelectric sensing element) are relatively high in cost. The inventors have found that if another sensing element, such as a displacement sensing element, is used to replace the sensing element for sensing the deformation of the resilient arm, due to the resilient arm defined by the single U-shaped gap having only a single fulcrum, when the touchpad module is pressed, the resilient arm tilts and deforms downward from this single fulcrum. This behavior affects the sensing performance of the displacement sensing element, resulting in poor displacement sensing accuracy. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a touchpad module, which includes a support member, a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having a displacement sensing element, and an elastic member, in which the support member has a plurality of strip-shaped gaps to define a resilient arm. The strip-shaped gaps form a symmetrical pattern, and the resilient arm has a central portion and a plurality of extension portions connected to the central portion. In other words, the resilient arm has a plurality of fulcrums (which are between the central portion and the extension portions). As a result, when the touchpad module is pressed, the resilient arm can deform downward in an approximately symmetrical manner, which is beneficial for the displacement sensing element to accurately sense the amount of displacement (i.e., the change in the distance between the printed circuit board assembly and the support member when the touchpad module is not pressed and after it is pressed), enabling the touchpad module to have better displacement sensing accuracy. Various embodiments of the touchpad module of the present disclosure will be detailed below.

1 FIG. 2 FIG. 3 FIG. 4 FIG. 1 4 FIGS.to 110 120 130 is a schematic external view of a touchpad module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.is a schematic top perspective view of a touchpad module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.is a schematic bottom perspective view of a touchpad module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a touchpad module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in, the touchpad module includes a support member, a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), and an elastic member.

2 4 FIGS.to 110 g 110 111 110 g As shown in, the support memberhas a plurality of strip-shaped gapsto define a resilient arm. The strip-shaped gapsform a symmetrical pattern. In this context, the term "symmetrical" includes completely symmetrical and approximately symmetrical, which means that a pattern that, after undergoing a certain operation (e.g., reflection, rotation, etc.), completely or substantially coincides with the original pattern.

2 3 FIGS.and 110 110 111 111 110 g g As shown in, the support memberhas two strip-shaped gapsto define the resilient arm, so the resilient armhas two fulcrums. The strip-shaped gapsform a rotationally symmetrical pattern. The term "rotationally symmetrical" means that a pattern that, after being rotated by a certain angle, completely or substantially coincides with the original pattern.

2 4 FIGS.to 111 111 111 111 111 111 110 111 111 c e e c e g e c As shown in, the resilient armhas a central portionand a plurality of extension portions, and the extension portionsare connected to the central portion. The extension portionsare separated from each other. In some embodiments, the strip-shaped gapsat least partially surround each other, and the extension portionsat least partially surround the central portion.

5 5 FIGS.A toD 5 5 FIGS.A toD 5 5 FIGS.A andB 5 5 FIGS.C andD 110 110 110 111 111 110 110 111 111 110 110 g g g g g are schematic top views of resilient arms according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in, the strip-shaped gapsform a symmetrical pattern. In some embodiments, as shown in, the support memberhas two strip-shaped gapsto define the resilient arm, so the resilient armhas two fulcrums. In some embodiments, as shown in, the support memberhas four strip-shaped gapsto define the resilient arm, so the resilient armhas four fulcrums. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoing embodiments. In other embodiments, the support member may have three or five or more strip-shaped gaps to define the resilient arm; in other words, the resilient arm may have three or five or more fulcrums. Furthermore, the strip-shaped gapmay have different or the same width at different positions. The strip-shaped gapsmay have the same or different shapes.

2 4 FIGS.and 110 112 111 112 In some embodiments, as shown in, the support memberhas a convex portionadjacent to the resilient arm. In some embodiments, the convex portionis made by a stamping process or another suitable process.

2 4 FIGS.to 4 FIG. 120 110 121 121 111 110 121 112 110 As shown in, the printed circuit board assemblyis located above the support memberand includes a displacement sensing element, which is used to detect the amount of displacement generated when the touchpad module is pressed, and convert it into an electronic signal for subsequent processing. As shown in, the displacement sensing elementis adjacent to the resilient armand faces the support member. In some embodiments, the displacement sensing elementfaces the convex portionof the support member.

111 111 121 120 110 It should be noted that, since the resilient armof the present disclosure has the fulcrums, when the touchpad module is pressed, the resilient armcan deform downward in the approximately symmetrical manner, which is beneficial for the displacement sensing elementto accurately sense the amount of displacement (i.e., the change in the distance between the printed circuit board assemblyand the support memberwhen the touchpad module is not pressed and after it is pressed). Therefore, the touchpad module of the present disclosure has better displacement sensing accuracy.

120 121 111 On the other hand, since the printed circuit board assemblyof the touchpad module of the present disclosure includes the displacement sensing element, the touchpad module may not include a sensing element for sensing the deformation of the resilient arm; the touchpad module may not include a strain gauge; and/or the touchpad module may not include a piezoelectric sensing element. Therefore, compared with a touchpad module including a strain gauge or a piezoelectric sensing element, the cost of the touchpad module of the present disclosure is lower.

121 121 120 122 121 121 122 121 3 FIG. In some embodiments, the displacement sensing elementis a capacitive sensing element, an inductive sensing element, or other sensing elements that can be used to detect displacement. In some embodiments, the displacement sensing elementis a sensing electrode for capacitive sensing. In some embodiments, the printed circuit board assemblyfurther includes an active shield layer, which is adjacent to the displacement sensing elementto reduce external signal interference and improve the displacement sensing accuracy of the displacement sensing element. In some embodiments, as shown in, the active shield layersurrounds the displacement sensing element. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoing embodiments; in other embodiments, the active shield layer may be disposed at other positions.

3 FIG. 121 111 111 121 111 c In some embodiments, as shown in, an area of the displacement sensing elementis greater than or equal to an area of the central portionof the resilient arm. In some embodiments, a number of the displacement sensing elementsis greater than a number of the resilient arms. It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, and in practical applications, the shape, area, disposition position, and number of the resilient arm and the displacement sensing element can be appropriately adjusted according to actual needs.

130 120 111 111 110 130 111 111 c c The elastic memberis disposed between the printed circuit board assemblyand the central portionof the resilient armof the support member. In some embodiments, a length and a width of the elastic memberare respectively less than or equal to a length and a width of the central portionof the resilient arm.

1 FIG. 2 4 FIGS.to 140 120 120 140 In some embodiments, as shown in, the touchpad module further includes a cover plate, which covers the printed circuit board assemblyshown into protect the printed circuit board assembly. In some embodiments, the cover plateis made of glass or other suitable material.

However, the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and should not be used to limit the scope of implementation of the present disclosure, that is, simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with claims and description of the present disclosure are still within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, any embodiment of the present disclosure or claim does not need to achieve all the objectives or advantages disclosed in the present disclosure. In addition, the abstract and the title are not intended to limit the scope of claims of the present disclosure.